Elevator door operating mechanism



NOV. 28, 1933. H; v MCCRNlCK 1,937,029

ELEVATOR DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM Filed June 13, 1929 6 Sheets-Sheet l vZ j. v ,.-zf a 59 Vi W .56 g3 3/ 4g l INVENTOR 2 By Attorneys,

Nov. 28, 1933. H. V. MccoRNlcK 1,937,029

ELEVATOR DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM Filed June 13, 1929 6 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTORv By Attorneys,

6 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR Nov. 28, 1933. H. v. MccoRNlcK ELEVATOR DOOROPERATING MECHANISM Filed June 13, 1929 Nov. 28, 1933. H. v. MccoRNlcKELEVATOR DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June 13, 1929#Wah/am,

' By Attorneys,

Nov.v 28, 1933. H. v. MccoRNlcK LEVATOR DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM FiledJune l5, 1929 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Nov. 28, 1933. H, v. MccoRNlcK 1,937,029

ELEVATOR DOOR OPERATING MECHAN I SM Filed June 13, 1929 6 Sheets-Sheet 6FLIQJ. du

Jai.. ,$7

101 E fl 1&9- Il!) 11 0 10J Qiim L /Il`\-\ ya] LM (j j@ 1mm Q14 V5INVENTOR z By Attorneys,

Patented Nov. 28, 1933 ELEvA'roa noon ornaa'rING 'MEcHANIsMk i Harold V.McCormick, Long/Beach,v N.l Y., :is--v signor, by mesne assignments', toWestinghouse4 Electric Elevator Company, Chicago,l corporation ofIllinois This invention relates to improvements in mechanism for openingand closing elevator doors and analogous devices. The various featuresof invention are specifically disclosed in the form of an apparatuscomprising an electrically-econ'- trolled motor mounted on an elevatoricar and connections whereby said motor may open and close the doors ofthe elevator as well as the'doors at the various landings of theelevator shaft in which the car travels.

Among the several objects of the invention the followi g may bementioned as ci importance: A

To provide a single operatingdevicefon a car having means forautomatically causing said de'- vice to open a door when the car is at alanding, manually-controlled means whereby said device may be caused toclose the door, andmeans connected with said device whereby it may beautomatically conditioned for a door-closing or a dooropening operationas the door is v'opened and closed. Y f

To provide a door-closing mechanism of which the'eifective closing forcemay bereduced after a closing movement hasibeen initiated. f

To provide a docr-closingvmechanism which will become automaticallyreversed if the door is'subjected to an abnormal resistance when partlyclosed, whereby the door will be automatically reopened. f

prising a driving crank having a primary motor connected therewith and asecondary spring mocrank with a door opening and closing device, the

relative disposition and ranges of movement of the parts of themechanism being such that the crank-connected end of said pitman willmove substantially at right angles to its longitudinal axis at thebeginning kand'at the end of keither a door-opening or a door-closingoperation ofthe mechanism, and will move substantially parallel withits-longitudinal axis when the crank is substantially midway betweenthe, beginning and end of a dooropening or do'or-closingmovement.

To provide a'door-operating mechanism com# To provide adoor-operatingmechanism having f the above-described connection between a drivingcrank and a' doorlopening and closing device in combination withftheaboveede'scribed connection between 'said crank and a spring motor, orbetween 60 said crank and a cushion or buiier, or in combi nation withsuch a spring motorand b'uier 'comtimed.Y l, "i

. To provide a door-operating mechanism having a primary motor and a'secondary spring motor 65 of the above-described character incombination with meanswhereby theprimary motor may be rendered passiveafter it has initiatedV a door# Y opening ror a door-closing movementand after it has storedsiiicient energy in the spring motor to insurerthe completion rofthe door-opening or v door-'closingmovement of vtheVmechanism after the primaryfmotor has been rendered ineffective. Toprovide,v an elevator Car'operating device` comprising a drivingmechanism' on the cana 75 door opening and closingf'deviceat a landing,and a couplingcomprising parts of said mechanism and device adaptedto bebrought into cooperative relation as thecar moves to thel land# 'v ing,the parts of said coupling being so disposed 80,Y`

that the Working clearance bywhich they? are n ,separated will'bematerially reducedv during 'anA additional door-opening movement'andwill rmain substantially constant throughout the remainder of themovements()V that the backlash will be reduced to a minimum at? the timewhen the door-operzttingVV mechanism changes over from an acceleratingmechanism toajretarding f mechanism. Y Y1 f ATo provide an elevatorcarvv door operating 90 mechanism comprisinga driving mechanism on thecar, a door-operating'device at the landing, anda coupling comprisingparts of said driving mechanism andoperating device adapted to bebrought into cooperative [relation r as" the car movesto a landing, oneofgsai'd coupling ele-r ments being yso mounted as yto be capable of.being deiiected in a direction other than that of itsr normal directionof movement, whereby itniay be displacedhby the othercouplingfele'mentand permit the two elements to pass each, other with-,i out damage if thecaris moved tothe landing when the two elements arenot in their properly/- aligned working relation* 'Y l "v i In theaccompanying drawings illustrating preferred and modified forms Iof theinventionp.-V Figure lyis,` aplan View of the entrance' portion of an'elevator shaft and 'theadjacent..portion of anjelevator.v car;V,illustrating a shaft door'. andv a v1110 14931029"{fi-Ff.

gcar door adapted to be operated by mechanism embodying the hereindisclosedinvention. Y

Fig. 2 is adiagrammatic view in elevation of the elevator car door andits door opening and closing device as lit'would be seen by one viewingthe car door through the shaftway door.

Fig.,V 3 is an elevational 'view of a` door ata shaftway and its openingand closing mechanism V'as it would be seen by one 'viewing the samefrom theinside of the shaft.

Fig. 411s a front view of the door-operating mechanism indicated asbeingmountedpnjthe topof the car. U v y Fig. 5 is a top view of theoperatingVmechanism illustrated in Fig. 4. A

Fig. 6 is an end view'of the door-operating mechanism illustrated inFigs. 4 and 5.

Fig. 7 is a rear View of the upper end of the door-operating armillustrated in Fig. 3.

Fig. 8 is a side view of the part'of the mechanism illustrated in Fig.7, a portion thereof being shownv in cross-section.

Fig. 9 is a modi'd form of coupling thrcugh which the door openingandclosing device at a landing may be operated by the mechanism onthecar. v

Fig. 10 is a,,conventional diagram of the/'electrical apparatus andconnections whereby the movements of the drivingmotor for `thedooroperating mechanism kare controlled. Y y w Fig. 1l is aVconventional View of a portion of the diagram'illustrated in Fig. 10,the controller being indicated in a-vdiferent position.

l Y Y, In Fig. 1 the entrance portion of an elevator car 2O isvindicated in association with the entrance 21 at a landing of anelevator shaft. The doorway of the car is closedA by ardoor hereindisclosed asa double door comprising door elements 22, 23,"having an`opening and closing device 24 therefor connected by-a driving shaft 25with an operating mechanism mounted in` any appropriate position onthecar. The doorway at the landing is likewise indicated as being closed bya door vherein disclosed as a double door A'comprising door elements 26,27, having opening and closing` device 28 provided with an operatingroller 2 9 adapted to form one ele- ,ment of a coupling by whichfthedoor opening .and closing device maybe connected withktheabove-described` operating mechanism mounted on the can The otherelement of the coupling may comprisea pair of shoes- 30, 3l, illustratedin broken lines. A n I Y The mechanism on the car by which the dooropening and closing devices 24 and 28 are operated will be hereinaftermore fully described. Referring now to Fig. 2, the door elements 22 and23 of the elevator car are 'indicated as being provided with an openingand closingdevice comprising a'bar 24 xedly'secured to a shaft u25rotatably mounted in the base'of the door-operating mechanism on the topof the car. Fixedly Asecured at the opposite end of theA shaft 25 is arocker-arm y32 connected by means of a rod 33 with a rocker arm 34'i'ixedlyV secured to a shaft the linksl 36 and 37 and the operating bar24 may be so disposed as to cause the door element 22 to move `withtwice the velocityof the door' element 23' when the larm 24 is swungabout the center of the shaft 25 during a door-opening movement of themechanism, thus causingY the two door elevments to be moved to thepositions indicated in broken lines in Fig. l as the door is fullyopened. A swing of the arm 24 in the opposite direction will cause thedoor toV be closed. v

The door opening and closing device of the door at a landing of theelevator shaft, bestvshown in Fig. 3, may comprise a lever 28fpivo'tallysecured at 38 to a support-39 Xedly secured to any appropriate part ofthe elevator shaftway. The lever 28, inthe form of the mechanism hereindisclosed, kis connected by a link 40 with an arm 4l of a lever 42 tothe door element 27.

The door element 26 may be connected with the lever 42 by a link 44, oneend of said link being connected vwith the door as at 45 andV the'otherend with the lever as at 46. The other endl of the lever 42 may beconnected at 47 by means of a Alink 48 with a bracket or'other support49 iixedly secured to any appropriate part of the shaftway.

. The above-described togglel mechanism may,

if desired, be `balanced by means of a counterby the elements of thetoggle mechanism may be pivotally connected vat 43 brought to rest inrelative positions or" alignment.

The upper end of the lever 28 lmay be provided with a roller 29 adaptedvto serve as one element of a coupling whereby the door-operating devicemay be connected vwith the operating mechanism on the car when the caris at the landing. The other element of the coupling is hereinillustrated in `broken lines ascomprising a pair of shoes 30, 3l sopositioned as to come to rest at opposite sides ofthe roller as the carmoves to the landing. This coupling element 30, 3l may be moved totheright, as illustratedin Fig. 3, by the oper-Vv ating mechanism on thecar-when the door isto be opened.

28 to be rotated in a clockwise directionA as viewed in Fig. 3,thuscausing the toggle mechanism to be broken, and acontinuance of themovement of the lever to the position indicated in broken lines in Fig.3 will cause the two door elements to be moved tothe positions indicatedin Ybroken lines in Fig. l. A reverse movementof the lever will causethe vdoors to be closed and locked in closed position by the togglemechanism.

One form of door-operating*mechanism*embodying the invention isillustrated in Figs. 4, V5 and 6 of theY drawings. This mechanism maycomprise a primary motor, preferably an electric `rnotor, 53, mounted ina suitable framework 54 It will lbe apparent that this move- Y.ment ofthe coupling element will cause the lever othersuitablecoupling means,with'a rock-shaft 56 through appropriate gearing which may compriseV aworm (not shown) driven by the shaft vconnected. with the clutchr 55 anda worm-wheel (not shown) enclosed in the in the framework`54.

Fixedly secured to one end of the shaft 56 is a rock-arm 58, connectedby means of a pitman 59 with a rock-arm 60, fixedly secured to the shaft35 mounted in the framework 54.

The shaft 35 is connected with the opening and closing device for thecar door by the lever 34 and .pitman 33, as already described,and-theshaft may `be'connected with the Shoes 30, 31,'bywhich .14@ gearcase'57 mounted the operating mechanism may be connected with theopening and closing ydevice yof a door at a landing, by means which willnow be described.v

As best illustrated in Figs. 4 and 6, the shoe 30v is provided wtih arear guide-block 61 (Fig. 6). and the shoe 31 is provided with a frontguideblool; 62, the two guide-blocks being adapted to slide, eachindependently of the other, along a pair or" guideways 63, 64. v

The guide-blocks 61 and 62 are respectively connected by means of pitmen65, 66 with a rockarm 6'? iixedly secured to the shaft 35. The pivotalconnections 68, 69 betweenthe rock-arm 67 and the pitmen 65, 66 are, forreasons to be hereinafter explained, at slightly different radialdistances from the center of the shaft 35, and the connection 68 Visspaced slightly in advance of the connection 69 as to its angularrelationship withl the center of the shaft 35.

. The pair of shoes 30, 31 comprise a coupling element intended tocooperate with the rollers on levers 28 of door-opening and door-closingdevices at the various landings of the elevator shaftway. In order thatthey may do this withoutconflict, notwithstanding the slight lateralswaying movement of the car with respect toits guides, it is importantthat a relatively ample working clearance be allowed between the innersurface of each shoe and the adjacent surfaces of the rollers. Theinvention, therefore, provides for a material reduction'of the clearancebetween thev shoes and the rollers during the initialpart of thedoor-opening movement, whereby ample clearance may be allowed withoutresulting in undue backlash duringy an opening movement of a door at thetime when the door has reached its maximum velocity of movement and theopening device ceases to be an accelerating means and,

commences to act as a retarding means. This is accomplished by theabove-described mechanism, :from an examination of which it will beapparent that the trailing shoe 3G connected with the rock'- arm 67 atthe point 68 will move somewhat faster during an initial part of adoor-opening movement than the leadingshoe V31 connected with therock-arm 67 at the point 69.

This acceleration of the trailing shoe with respect f to the leadingshoe isdue both to the angular spacing of the points 68 and 69 and tothe greater angular distance of the point 68 from the center of theshaft 35. The connection` ofthe pitmen 65 and 66 with the arm 67substantially as -indicated in Fig. 4 of the drawings will cause thevariation of movement between the shoes 3Q and 31 to gradually decrease,so thatthe movement of the two shoes will become substantially uniformbefore the rock-arm has moved to a vertical position, and the movementof the two shoes will remain substantially uniform thereafter une tilthe rock-arm attains its maximum movement to the left, at which time thedoor-opening move# ment is completed. In view ofthe somewhat greaterradius of the pivotal 'connection 68 as compared with that oftheconnection 69, this movement of the shoes at mechanism may beattained even though the rock-arm move to an angular position to theleft substantially equal to that to which it Vmoves to the right inclosing the door, as indicated 'in broken lines in Fig. 4.

'it will he obvious that the relative positions of the pivotalconnections 68, 69 between the connecting rods 65, 66 and the rook-arm67 may be varied in accordance with variations ofl the reditional arc ofmovement of spective angular positionsto which'V the krockarm .isintended to be movedat the beginning and endofadooreopening movement.For example,

`if the .angular .inclinati-onor the roclarm at the beginning of itsmovement to the right of theA vertical line passing through the center.of the Vshait 35 is'greater than its inclination .at-*.the

end of the movement to the leftof suchv vertical line, vthe radial'distance of the center 68 as compared with that ofrgthe center'69 mightbev de-Y creased, orthe former might even be made equal tothe latter,since yunder such circumstances the y relative speed of `movement oftheshoes 66, 31

wouldbe'suhstantially`equalV during the swingfof I 4 the arm 67throughout the arcs of movementv of substantially equal angles'atopposite sides of the vertical line, where-as the velocity wouldfbecaused to `vary-more rrapidly Ythroughout the adthe arm to the rightl ofthe verticalline. l .Y .l As a means of avoiding accidental damage tothe mechanism, should the ycar approach/the' landing when thecouplingfelement comprising the shoes 86,v -31 and the coupling elementcom-` prising the roller29 arenot in their normal align:y vment,provision is made whereby one Vof theserelements may be deiiected in adirection substan' tially` perpendicular to movement', therebyypermitting the two coupling elements .t'ol pass each other withoutunduly straining any part of themechanism. One form` its normaldirectioniot of mechanism foraccompli'shing this result istl illustratedinFigs. '7 and 8. vAs there disclosed, the upper end ofthedoor-operating lever 2 8 consists of an'extension "I0 pivotallyconnectedas at 71 to a bracketf'm firmly secured to the upper end ofVthe lever. Any appropriate form voispring' may be provided to maintainthe extension 70 in its upright position, vandfits movement ina'clockwise direction about the pivotalconnection 71, as indicated'inFiglj'8, may be limited' by means of a vdownwardiy-extending,toe-7e,which is brought into contact with the rear face of the bracket '72 whenthe extension 'Z6y is in its normal working position.

Asy indicated in Fig-6, the shoes 30, 31 are gradually tapered at theirupper andlower extremities on the faces directed towards the adjacentwall of the elevator shaft so as to form a cam' like-element. Should therelative paitions of the lever v28 and the coupling element comprising'thef shoes 30, 31 befdisplacedwhen the car 'ap-l proaches thev landingeither from above or from below, so that one or the other of the shoesis in' alignment with the roller'instead of passing clearly to onesidethereof, the'approaching 'grafdually-beveled surface ofthe Vshoe willengage the'- face of the roller 29 and cause it andthe exte'nsion '70 ofthe leverv 28, in which it is mounted, to"

be rocked slightly` aboutlthe pivotal 'connection '71, as indicated inbroken lines in Fig.y 6j This will permitthe shoe to pass the rollerwithout.v

damage, after which the spring 73 'willcausethe roller and its mountingelement to be're'storedto Ytheir normal positions, as indicated in full'lines in Fig. 5.

In the preferred form of the invention, means,l kf

hereinafter to be described, may bejprovided v for rendering the primarymotor 53 inactive'after it hasv rotated the 'crank 58 v(Fig. 4) throughslightly more than half its door-.opening or doorclosing movement, andan auxiliaryv spring motor is provided to insure thecompletion offsuchmotion. -As indicated in Fig. 4, this spring-motor may be combinedwitlrahydraulic buiier of any isc" ce f

; piston 80.

appropriate type. More speci''ca'lly described,

y the vspringmotor andbuler best adaptedA for. use

as a :part of the ,herein-,disclosed inventioncomprisea cylinder '75,pivotally connectedat one end asatZG tothe baseer frame 54,andrapistonrod 77 pivotally connectediat one endl-as at :78 ,tot

an extension 'Z9 forminga part of the, end of the pitman 59,'thepiston-rod 77 beingk connected at its opposite endl to a piston 80adapted tov move into and out ofa restricted portion ofthe cylinderori-,suitable fornito serve as al dash-pot. A spring 81 may :be connnedbetween the upper head ofthe cylinder 75 anda spring-retaining element82 secured to the piston-rod 77 above the It will be observed that thedirection of movement of the crank-connected end of the pitman 59 .atthe beginning `and at the end of a dooropening or'door-closing movementVis substantially perpendicular with respect to `the longitudinal axisof the pitrnan, Whereas the direction of movement oi the crank-connectedend joi the pitman -59 when the crank is substantially midway betweenthe extreme ends of the door-openingy or door-closing `movementv issubstantially parallel with thevlongitudinal axis of the kpitman.. On

the other hand, the direction of movement ofthe crank-connected end ofythe pistoni-rod '77 at the beginning .and at the end'ofl a door-openingor door-closing movement is substantially paral-y lel with itslongitudinal axis,` whereas the direction oi movement of the same endvoithe piston-rod 77 lwhen the crank is midway between the ends of a doorlopening or closing movement is approximately at right angles to thelongitudinal axis ofthe piston-rod. This relationship is of importancein that it enables the crank to very gradually accelerate and retardthe-opening and closing movements of the door; torestore energy morerapidly in the spring' motor at the commencement oi an opening orclosingmovement when the'resistance offered by ,ther spring is least;and to permit the spring'to complete .an opening or closing movement ofthe, door yat a 45 time when its mechanical advantage is greatest.

The relative position of the upper end of the door-operating lever 28with respect to the coupling element comprising the shoes 30, 31, whenthe car is at a landing, is best -illustrated in Figs. 3,4 and 6. InFig. 3 the shoesand adjacent portions of the coupling element vareindicated in broken lines, and in Fig. 4 the'r upper end of the lever 28is indicated in broken lines.

In order that the elevator on whichthe apparatus einbody-ingtheinvention is installed may "not be started while the operating mechanismmay be subjected to the control of an interlock switch of anyappropriatev character, which may be enclosed lina switchbcx `83 mountedon the framework 54, as indicat- `ed in Fig'. 4. The switch may beopened and `closed 'by azrcclr-arm B4, connected by a rod 85 with arock-arm 86, fixedly secured to the shaft 35. Preferably, asindicatedink Fig. ll, the relative positions or the rock-arms 84. and 8d withrespectvto the connecting rod 85 and the shafts to `which the arms aresecured are .such that. the

movement of the arm 86 inits clockwise direction during the initial partof the door-openingv movement will impart a rapid lengthwise movement tothe vconnecting rodeo, and such that each Yincrement Aof lengthwisemovement of the rod will imparta relatively rapid angular. movement tothe rock-arm 84, thus-causing Vthe switch ter- .m-inals (not shown) `.inthe box 83 to be quickly doors are open,` the .car-

1-,937f,o2.9 v

opened, :afterwhichthe retardation vof the move-y ment zorgthe switch`member is of no material consequence. `|This .arrangement of therockarms .zand connecting rod by which the interlock switch is operatedis of importance also because it insures the separation of the lswitchelements until the .door has beenalmost completely closed.

In ordergtov provide for necessary adjustments f between the dooropening and closing devices and the operating mechanisml on the car,the' connecting rod 33 (Fig. 2) neednot'be directly connected with thero i-arin On the contrary, the connecting rod may be pivotally securedtoa sleeve 34', which may be radially movable along the arm'Slandadjustably'secured thereto inanyV appropriate manner. vFurtheradjustment between the different parts of the mechanismmay be provided,if desired, by threading the'oppo- 7 site ends ofthe connecting rods33,59, 65, 66 and 85, right hand and left hand respectively',A wherebytheeiTective lengths of the rods may be increased by rotation inonedirection and decreased by rotation in the other direction, afterwhich they maybe firmly secured in adjusted position by means oflock-nuts.` f Y It will be obvious that the variation of the clearancespace between the partsoi the coupling lbetween the operating mechanismon the car and the opening and closingdevice at a landing may beeffected in various ways. -In Fig. 9, for example, is Villustrated amodified form of coupling having a single driving element land having apair of rollers 29 .at the upper end "oi the lever using this form' ofthe mechanism, if it is desired to have the lower end of` the lever 28swing through equal angles tothev right and left of avertical liner--cc'passing through the axis of its pivotal connection 38 throughoutits complete door-opening and door-closing movements, the upper end of'the lever may be bent to an angle such that the rollers29 will still betol the left of the vertical line .'r-r when the 'lever is substantiallymidway between Vthe beginning and lend cfits complete range 'of'movement The bend in the upper end of the lever28 may also be such thatthe rollers 29 at the end oi adoor-'opening movement lwill havebeenmoved to the right of the vertical line ,s3-r a Ydistancesubstantially equal to that-which they occupy at the left of the linewhenfthe lever is in its mid-position. It will Je apparent from ananalysis of this mechanism that, as the driver 30' moves the upper endof the lev'erfrom the position indicated at A to throughout this part ofthe movement, the change Y Vin clearance space between the rollers vandtheV anges is proportionately small. yIt will be clear, therefore, thata relatively large clearance may be provided between the yrollers andthe flanges of the driving element when in their normal positions asindicated at A, thus allowingffcr the necessary lateral'movement of thecar as it travels up and downthe shaitway without causing .28' to beengaged by the driving element. When During the movee lli the rollers toconflict with the vertical movements of the driving element. After thecar is brought to rest at a landing and the driving element is movedtowards the right during the initial part of a door-opening movement,the clearance between the rollers and the flanges ofthe driving elementwill be materially reduced, so that,when the door has reached itsmaximum Velocity of movement and the driving element ceases to act as adriving member and commences to act as a retarding member, the clearancebetween the rollers and the flanges of thev driving element may besmall, thus permitting a minimum amount of jar' or backlash.

The preferred and modified forms of the invention thus far disclosedillustrate but two of the many ways in which the clearance between thedriving and driven elements'of vthe coupler may be reduced during theinitial part of a door-opening movement by variations of the proportionsand points of connection of the links of the mechanisrn. 1 f

1n Fig. 10 are illustrated diagrammatically the electrical apparatus andcircuit vconnections by means of Vwhich the operation of the primarymotor 53fis controlled. On this diagram 87 represents the armature or"thev operating motor of the elevator car, the movements of which -aredependent upon the position of the handle 88 of an appropriatecontroller 89 mounted in the car.

The primary motor 53 (Fig. 5) of the door-oper ating mechanism may be ofthe series'iwound type indicated in the diagram as having an armature 53and a eld winding53f". The movements of this motor, as will behereinafter more fully explained, may be made dependent upon theoperation of a relay 90 mounted onthe'car, `relays 91, 93 and 94 mountedin the lelevator penthouse or in any other available position in thebuilding in which the elevator is installed, and a controller 95 whichmay be mounted 'on the end oi the shait 56 (Fig. 4) and enclosed in acasing secured to the gear casing 57.

The relay 91 (Fig. 10), which may be designated a master relay, mayhave'its energizing`r coil connected in a circuit comprising conductors96, 97, including the armature 87 of the car-operating motor or so muchof the winding of that armature as may be necessary to keep the relay 91energized and its armature pulled up so long as the armature 87 is inrotation. When the armature S7 comes to rest, the relay 91 will becle-energized, thus causing its armature '98 to fall,

back and close a circuit from one terminal 99 of any suitable source ofelectromotive force through conductor 100, contact members of relay 98,conductor 101, the winding of relay 90, conductors 102, 103, element 107of controller 95,

and conductors 104 and V105, to the other ter-` 'nal 196 of the sourceof el'ectromotive force. circuit is controlled not only by the master r91, but also by the element 107 of the con- 95. s lthe energizing coilofthe relay 90, which is designed to control the door-opening movementof the motor 53.

in order that the door may not be opened by '.s the landing, themagnetic circuit of the ,1 90 is divided into two portionsof'which one108 is mounted at the landing. When is between' landings, there is a gapin the gap is closed its physical and electrical characteristics aresuch that it will not drawup its included in the circuit just traced eenergizing of the master relay 91v unless-thearmature 'even though thecircuit off'it's-ene'rgi'zing coil isclosed by the master relay 91."When" the car reaches the landing, the gapin the mag' netic circuit ofthe relay 90 is closed by the'partl of the circuit 108 mounted in anappropriatelo' cation in the elevator'shaft, thus causing the;

characteristics `of the'relay to be changed, as a result of whichtherelay attracts its armature and closes acirc'uit from conductor 109through theenergizing coil of relay 92," hereinafter referred to as thedoor-openingfrelay, conductors 109,l

110, 103, `104 and 105, thuscausing the door-'J' opening relay toattract its armature and estabiish an energizing circuit for the motor53. This circuit betraced asfollows: terminal 99,

conductor 100, left-hand contacts of relay '92,'v

conductor 111, motor armature 53?', conductor 112, right-hand contactsof relayl92, conductor 113,` field `winding 53 and conductors- 114 and'to terminal 106.' This energizing circuit causes the door-operatingmotor togbel operated ina door-opening direction, and during suchrotation the controllerf95 connected'toshaft' 56 (Fig. 4) of theoperating mechanism isl rotated in the direction indicated by the arrowsin'Fig.

When` the door-operating mechanism is in its door-closing position, thecontacts 'of vthe 'controller element 107 are connected byconductiveYmateriall so vas tolclose the circuits for the land- .lng'relay 90 andthe door-opening 'relay 92.` 'The controller element107, howeverfisprovided with insulating elements so positionedas to break the circuitbetween conductors 103 andi-104 at an intermediate point of thedoor-opening movement of the motor, thus de-energizing :the landingrelay 90 and door-opening relay .92, after' which the motor'de-energized,v andlbecomes passive or inactive.V the controller elementThe insulating portions of v 107 are' so disposed withV respect to thevconductor portions as to interrupt; p

the circuits ofthe relays90and ezaftervthe. the door has been well in-l81'(Fig. 4) of the secondopening .movement of itiatedA and. the vspringary motor has been suniciently energized `:to Tinsure the completion oithe `door-opening `Ymoye-I ment.` Preferably, this interruption ofthemotor circuit will take place. after the'crank T58. Y

one-halff.y

(Fig'. 4) has made slightly more than its complete door-openingmovement.- Thel energ'izing circuit ofthe relays 90 and 92,'wil1fb'emaintained in an open-circuit condition'bythe controller element 107throughout the remainder oi' the door-opening movement Aofthe motorun-`Y til the motor andthe connected controllercome to rest with thecontroller in the position-indi-` cated in Fig'. 11, which may bereierred'to; as its open-door position.

When the controller 95 isin its open-door posi-y j tion as distinguishedfrom its closed-door posia circuit may be established through thev tion,energizing coil of garded as a door-closingrelay. be traced as'follows:terminal the relay 93, which .may bere- 99, conductor 100,:

relay-energizing coil, conductor 115,ithe contact' members 118 and 119of the car `switch,"conductor 116, controller element 117, conductor 10eand conductor 105 to terminal 106. This doorclosing motor circuit maybeclosed, when'the door is open, by any appropriate switch mechanism inthe car. e herein disclosed, comprises switch terminals 118 which may beprovided in 'pairs-in the-controller 89, the terminals being so disposedas to be 'closed 1u@ by a Contact element 119 connected with the con-This circuit mayr Such switch mechanism,` as' E Y l troller handle 88,by which it may be moved into a bridging. relation with respect to onepair of contacts whenV moved in one direction to cause the'rcar toascend, and to bridge the other pair ofterminals when movedin theropposite direction to cause the car to descend. The contacts 118 `may beconnected in parallel relation, as indicated, so that the circuit of thedoor-closing relay 93` will be closed irrespective ofv the direction ofmovement of the controller handle.

` The pulling-up of theV armature of relay 93 will establish twocircuits for the motor of the door-operating mechanism, one ofrelatively high resistance and one of relatively low resistance.

" The circuit of relatively low resistancev may be traced as follows:terminal 99, conductor 100,

' right-hand contactsofl relay 93, conductor 120,

right-hand pair of right-hand contacts of relay 94, conductor 112, motorarmature 53', controller element 121, conductor 122, right-hand pair ofleft-hand contacts of relay 94, conductor 123, left-hand contacts ofrelay 93, `conductor 113, motor eld winding'53, conductor 114 andconductor 105 to terminal 106.

kThe circuit ofV relatively high resistance uses a part of the circuitconnections of the circuit of relatively low resistance; and may beVtraced as follows: terminal 99, conductor 10(1), right-hand contacts ofrelay 93;,conductor 120, right-hand i pair of right-hand contacts ofrelay 94, conducto-r 112, motor armature'532conductor' 111,righthandpair of the-'central gro-upof contacts of relay94;conductor125,energizing'coil of relay 94, conductor 126, resistance coil1,27, left-handcontacts of relay-93, conductor 113, eld windingv `53",conductor 114-and' conductor l05to terminal-106. f

VTheabove-described motor circuits diier from ,the motor'circuitestablished bythe doorv opening relay 92- inV that they cause currenttok pass through the armature 53 in the opposite direction, while thecurrent is caused to pass through'the eldw'inding 53' in the same`direction.-` The motorv is thus reversed'y and conditioned for adoor-closing movement of the operating mechanism. Y

Soflong as the door-closing circuits vof the motor are closed at thecontroller-elements 117 and 12,1', asindicated in Fig; 11 representingthe positionlof the controller when the doors are open, aV relativelylow resistance motor circuit Will be established, ,causing the motor toexert its normal torque during.l the initial part of adoorclosingmo-vement. After the closing movement of the door has beenwell initiated and the door has been say approximately one-third closed,the insulating portionof the controller element 121 will break the lowresistance motor circuit between-conductor' 122 and the field-winding53, 60j,

after' which the motor Willbe energized'through the high: resistancecircuit including resistance coil 127, thus causing the torque of themotor to'be materially reduced, so that the movement of thefdoorcoulcl'be more readily stopped-should a-person become accidentallycaughtbetween the leading-edge of the-door andthe door jamb.

Thepurpose ofithe relay 94, which may bere.- garded as an emergencyrelay, is to provide an additionalsafeguard againstinjury to a personwho' might be caught by the door as it is'being closed. As alreadyexplained, this relay has an energizing coil in the circuit comprisingconconductors being ra ypart of the door-closing motor; circuit. Thecharacteristics ductors 124,125, 126 and resistance coil 12.7, saidcontroller element 10'?,` conductor high resistance.

of. therelay 94 aresuch that it Will not be suinciently energized by thecurrent in the rnotorl circuit to operate its armature so long as thedoor-closing load on the motor is normal. The

characteristics of this relay are such, however, v

that it will be suiiiciently energized to pull up its armature if thecurrent in the motor circuit is materially increased, as would be thecase if the motor-Were subjected to an overload as a result of anabnormal obstruction to the closing of the door. kUnder suchcircumstances, the pulling-` up ofthe armatureofv the relay 94 wouldcause it to open the three circuits already traced through theright-hand pairs of its three'groups 'of contacts and to close newcircuits through the left-hand pairs of the same groups of-contacts.v

In order that theV armature of the relay 94 may not be caused to moveback to its normal'vr position by thebreaking of its energizing circuitthrough the right-hand pair of its intermediate groupy of contacts, therelay is provided with a second energizing winding in a holding circuitwhich is established through the left-hand pair of its left-handcontacts, whichY mayY be tracedy as-follows: terminal 9,9-, conductor100, conductor 128, holdingl coil-'for relay94, left-hand -pair ofleft-hand 4contacts of relay 94, conductor 1 29,

104r and. conductor ltoterminal 106.

The pulling-up ofthe armature oi'therelay-94 will-breakthe normaldoor-closing motor circuits at the right-hand pairs of its three groupsof contacts, and will establish a reversing motor circuit, whiclrmay betraced asfollows: terminal 99, conductor 100, conductor 130, left-handpair of the middle group of contacts of relay 94, con-'f 1 ductor 124,conductor 111, motor yarmature V53',

conductor'11-2, left-hand pair of right-handcontacts of relay 94,-conductor- 131, conductor 113,

ielclI winding- 53f, conductor-'114 and conductor` 105 to terminal 106.`The resistance offered toV the. closing of the door by one who might beso unfortunate as to be v caughtv between the approaohing' edge ofthedoor and the door jamb would vthus cause the motor lcircuit to bereversed throughrthis new set of connections established by thepulling-up of relay 94v and thus cause thedoor'to bequickly opened.

The ,opening of the door as a resultoiv the operation or the emergencyrelayl 94 will continue until the holding circuit of the relay is brokenby theinsulating portion of controller element-19.7, after which thearmature of the relay 94V will be restored to its normal position. Thedoor will remain open provided the handle 88' has been restored to itsnormal position, sok

isc

the motor circuits, after which the motor will beV #I ineffective duringthe completion of the doorclosing movement by the springmotor.

To avoidthe unintentional direct connection ofthe field winding 53across ythe terminals 99,

106, 151.11.15 Short-Circuiting the armature 53,the i insulatingportions of the controller elements 107, 117 should be so disposed thatthe circuit through element 107 Will be broken before 'the circuit isestablished through element 117 during a door-opening movement, and soVthat the circuit through controller 117 will be broken before a circuitis established throughv controller element 107 during a door-closingmovement.

t will be understood that, by proper adjustment of the armature springof the relay 91 and the winding of its exciting coil, the time elementbetween the stopping of the rotation o f the armature 87 and theoperation of therelay armature 98 may be adjusted to accord with theconditions` to be met. If it is desired to have the car doors y commenceto open as the car is being brought to rest at the landing, this may beeffected by using a relay having a relatively open magnetic circuitr anda spring capable of vcausing its armature to fall back before thecurrent in its exciting coil has been reduced to zero. On the otherhand, if it is desired to delay the opening of the doors until slightlyafter the timewhen the car ar-r rives at the landing, this may beaccomplished by interlinking, with the magnetic circuit of the relay, ashort-oircuited coil of low electrical conductivity in association withits exciting coil, in a well-known manner, which will tend to maintainthe excitation of the magnetic circuit of the relay after the current inits exciting coil has ceased to be eiective. f l

The mode of operation of the above-described mechanism may now bereadily explained. As an elevator car having the invention appliedthereto comes to rest at a landing, the magnetic circuit of relay 90mounted onrthe car will be closed by the metal bridging element 108mounted in the elevator shaft, so that, as soon as the armature 87 ofthe car-operating motor comes to v rest and the master relay 91 ispermitted to release its armature, relay 90 Willestablish anenergizingcircuit `for the door-opening relay 92, which, in turn, willestablish the door-opening circuit for motor 53 (Fig. 5),. The motor 53will then commence to rotate andwill, through the clutch 55 and the wormand worm-wheel in the gear case 57, commence to rotate the crank 58 in acounter-clockwiseV direction asrindicated in Fig. 4. This movement of`the crankand the connected door-operating mechanism comprising theconnecting rod 59, rock-arm 50. rock-arms 67 and 34, connecting rods65,56 Vand 33, and door-4 operating levers 24 and 28, willgraduallyr'accel.- crate the car door as well asvthe doorv at thelanding, and will at the same time commence to store energy in thespring motor 81.4 This initial movement o1. the crank and associatedmechanism. will also cause the interlock switch in the switch-box 83 tobe quickly opened as soon as the door starts to move, thereby making itirnpossible to start the car either upwardly or downwardly until thedoor vhas again Vbeen closed.

After the door has received from the motor 53 a sulcient impulse'toinsure the completion ofthe opening movement with the laid ofthe energywhich has been stored in the spring 31,v the motor circuit is opened andthe motor is rendered powerless throughout the remainder of thedoor-opening movement.

lThe opening of the motor circuit is eiected by the controller secured,to the shaft 56, the element 107 of which will at the proper time causethe relays 90 and 92 to be de-energized, after which the controllerelement 117 will-be conditic-ned for mediately reopened.

the closing of circuits whereby the` tionsof` the controllervvillpreferablybe so--disr posed as to delay theopening of the motor circuituntil ater the crank 58 has completed more` thanhalr its door-openingmovement, at which time it will have passed its dead-center relation;-

ship with respect to the spring motor 81. Under normalcircumstances theinertia of the doors and door-operating mechanism might be reliedupon tovcomplete the opening movement. Since the operation of, the mechanism.under such ideal' conditions could `not be relied uponin practice, thespring motor 81, in which energy is .stored throughout the iirst hair ofthe door-closing movement, has been supplied as a means of completingsuch movement, the 'doors beinggently broughtto rest by means of thecushion or buffer in the end of the spring cylinder 75.

The closing of the car door andthe door which has been opened at alanding may be effected at the will oi4 the car operator by movement ofthe controlled handle 83 inone direction if he desires to cause the'carto ascend, and in the opposite direction if he desires to cause the carto descend..

This movement of the handle-88 of the controller will have no immediateeect upon the car-operating mechanism, which is rendered ineffective bythe interlock switch in box 83 so long as the* doors are open, butitvvill establish a circuitas a result ci which the door-closing relay93twill be energized, and the relay will, in turn, establish circuitsthrough which the door-operating motor may be driven inits door-closingdirec- Y tion. The circuits established by relay '93 include one ofrelatively low` resistance dependent upon aconductive path throughcontroller element 121 by which the motor may be caused to exert itsmaximum torque during the initiation 7 of a door-closingmovement.' Afterthe door has been approximately one-third closed, and has attainedthegreater part of itsacceleration ina door-closing direction, thelowresistance motor circuit is' opened by the controller element 121 andthe motor is then energized through the high resistance circuitincluding the resistance coil 127. This` change of circuits results in amaterial reduction inthe driving torque of the motor,

ythus making it possible for one Who might be caught by the door-tobring it to rest without be- Theemergency relay 94 isv ing seriouslyinjured. provided as an additional safeguard. This relay Vbecomeseifective as a result of the overloading of the motor due toy anabnormalobstruction -to the closing movement of the door; With thisiea'-l .L v

ture of the invention embodied inthe mechanism,

a person who might be caught by the `door would `cause the relay 94 tobe energized, thereby establishing areversing circuit through thedoor-operating armature, thus causing the door to be im- `The completevopening oi the door breaks a holding circuit for the emergency relaythrough controller element 197, thus restoring the relay circuit tonormal condition, after which, if the doorway is clear, thedoor may beclosed by a normaloperation of the mechanism by again" movingthe-handleSS of the controller in the proper direction.

One feature of the invention whichisofjma-r' terial importance is that asingle auxiliary springl ff. 'motor is relied upon to complete theclosing movement oi the door as well as to complete the opening movementof the door, and a single cushion--l ing device or buffer-is employed tobring the door to restat the end of its movement in both directions.YThe operating connections between the primaryv motor, the spring motor,the buffer and the door opening and closing devices, are also of specialmeritin thatthey are such as to cause the door to be very graduallyaccelerated by the primary motor; to cause energy to be stored in thespring motor most rapidly at the time when the kspring affords theleastresistance, and more slowly as the resistance of the spring increases;and to cause the spring to exert its greatest mechanical advantage atthe end of a door-opening or door-closingmovement so as to fullycornplete the same notwithstanding the retarding iniiuence of thebuffer.v

If the moving car'passes a landing without stopping, the'door-opcratingmechanism is not affected since, although the magnetic circuit or" therelay 9o is closed as the relay passes the metal element 108 at thelanding, the energizing coil of said relay remains dead for the reasonthatthe electromotive force across the terminals of the masterrelay 91'is maintained by the rotation of the armature 87 or" the car-operatingmotor, thus preventing the master relay 91 from releasing its armature.AS1 the car passes the landing, the shoes 30 and 8l of thedoor-operating mechanism pass at'oppositesides of the rollers 29 of thedoor opening and closing devices at the difier- 'ent landings, ampleclearance being allowed to provide for the lateral swaying movement ofthe car in its guides.v Howeven should the car be caused to pass alanding when the normal positions of the shoes and rollers have been sodisplaced as tonot bring a'roller and shoe into alignment, the yieldablemounting of the roller in the lextension 'loof the lever 28, asindicated in Figs.

i and 8, would vpermit the roller to be slightly deflected by thegradually-inclined face of. the shoe so as to cause the shoe to pass'theroller without injuring any part of the'mechanism,

Although it is necessary to provide a relatively large amount ofclearance space between the rollersy29 and the shoes 30, 31, to permitthe car to pass freely up and'down the shaftway, this clearance space ismaterially reduced during the initiation of a door-opening movement andbefore the vacceleration or" the door by the door-opening device hasbeen completed, so that, after the dooropening device has attained itsmaximum velocity and commences to retard the opening movement or" thedoor, theclearance between the roller and the shoes will be relativelysmall so as 'to permit a negligible amount of backlash at the time whenthe door overruns the operating mechanism as the latter is changed infunction from an acceleratlng device to a retarding device. o

The conventional form of controller indicated in ll and at lthe lowerleft-hand corner of Fig. l0 fairly representative of a controlleradapted for use in the specic form of door-operating mechanismillustrated in Fig.A 4, in which the crank 58 is intended to make acomplete door-V opening or door-closing rotation of an extent ofsomething less than 180. Should the mechanism be such as to require thecomplete movement to equal or slightly exceed 189; thev form ofcontrollerindicated by the above-mentioned figures of the drawings wouldnot be satisfactory, since the electrical conditions at the end of thecorresponding movement or the controller would be the same as at thebeginning of the movement. It will be apparent, however, that the actualcontroller might be made in some other suitable form, such, for example,as a drum having the opposite contact elements located in diierentplanes so that'the relative lengths of insulating-strips andr prising anopening and closing device for a door at a landing, an operating devicetherefor including a plurality of links carried by the car, and a vcoupling, including a pairof shoes, Afor said devices comprising aportion of each, said portions being so disposed as to be broughtintoelective power-transmitting relation by the movement of the cartothe landing, the respective portions of said coupling being oidimensions diiferingsuiiiciently to provide a free working clearanceVwhen in the positions which they normally occupy as the car-travels upand down its shaftway, the links of the mechanism connecting the saidshoes to different points on the operating device to reduce theclearance between the respectiveportions of the coupling during theinitial 'door-accelerating portion of a door-opening movement.

2. An'elevator door operatingmechanism, as dened by claim '1, of whichone portion o1" its coupling comprises a roller and the other a pair ofrelatively movable spaced roller-engaging shoes, said shoes beingconnected with the linkage of which they form a part at different pointsso as to be moved at different rates of speed during the initialdoor-accelerating movement of the mechanism, the points selected beingsuch as to cause the trailing shoe to move slightly'faster than theleading shoe and thereby reduce the amount of clearance between theshoes and the roller.

3. Anl elevator door operating mechanism, as defined by claim 1, havinga roller as the part of the coupling which comprises a portion of thedoor opening and closing device and a pair or" relatively movable spacedroller-engaging shoes as'the part which constitutes aportion of theoperating de` vice, said Y operating device comprising a crank and apair of links connecting the respective shoes therewith atangularly-spaced points with respect to its center of rotation. Y Y

4. The combination with an elevator car .and .J.

a door to be opened' only when said car is at a landing of its shaftway,of an operating deviceV Y for said door having an electrical controllingcircuit and a relay therefor of which the magnetic circuit consists ofseparable metal elements, f

mounted respectively on said car and at said landing in relativepositions such as to close the' magnetic circuit of the relayy andreduce its reluctance when the car is at the landing, the magnetic,electrical, and mechanical characteristics :secr

of the relay being such that it will not be rendered effective to vcloseits controlling circuit when electrically energized except when itsmagnetic circuit is closed.

5. An elevator door operating mechanism, as j dened by claim 4, havingan electrical circuit in which the energizing coil of its relay isconnected, a master/relay to open said circuit 'when energized and closeit when de-energized, and `electrical connections whereby the energizingcoil of lib.-

the master relay may be connected with the armature of the elevatoroperating motor, whereby the master relay will be energized whenever thearmature is rrotating and de-energized only when it is at rest. r

6. The combination, with a door-closing device, and an electric motortherefor, of means for energizing said motor comprising two circuits oneof higher resistance than the other, and a controller connected withsaid device whereby the circuit of relatively high resistance may beshunted by the circuit of lower resistance throughout the initial partof a doorfclosingl operation and whereby the low resistance circuit maythen be opened so as to reduce the driving power of the motor throughoutthe remainder of the closing movement. t

7. The device defined by claim 6, having, in combination therewith, anemergency 4relay of which the energizing coil is included in the motorcircuit of relatively high resistance and means controlled by said relaywhereby the motor circuit may be reversed, the characteristics of saidrelay being such that it will not be rendered effective unless the motorcurrent is materially increased above that necessary to drive the motorwhen subjected to its normal door-closing load.

8. The combination, with a door-closing device, and an electric motortherefor, of means comprising circuit connections whereby said motor maybe caused to rotate in a door-closing direction, a motor-reversing relayhaving its energizing coil connected withv said 'motor circuit, andmeans comprising Vcircuit connections controlled by said relay wherebysaid motor `may be caused to rotate in a door-opening direction, thecharacteristics of said relay being such that the current in the motorcircuit will not cause it to be operated to effect a change in the motorcircuit connections so long as the door-closing load on the motor isnormal, but such thatan inc creasein the current inthe motor circuit dueto an overload of the motor as -a result `of an abnormal obstruction tothe closing of' the door will l cause the relay to be operated, therebyeffecting a change of circuit connections such as to reverse thedirection of rotation of the motor.

9'. The combination, defined by claim 8, vincluding additional circuitconnections controlled by rthe motor-reversing relay, whereby, .whensaid relay is once effectively energized, it will remain energized afterits original energizing circuit isy opened. l .I

f HARQLD V. MCCORMICK Liao iso

